Personal Injury Law

December 21, 2015

Hospital Doctors May Be Liable to Third Parties for Failing to Warn Their Patients that the Drugs They Were Given May Affect Their Driving

Earlier this month, an appellate court in New York issued an opinion in a case that discussed the liability that may arise when a doctor at a hospital administers medication to a patient and then releases the patient without any warning that the medication provided may affect their driving. In the case, Davis v. South Nassau Communities Hospital, the plaintiff was not the patient of the doctor but was a third party who was injured in a car accident involving the patient.

The Facts of the Case

A woman (“the Patient”) went to the hospital for treatment. As part of her treatment, she was given opioid pain medication and a benzodiazepine. Less than two hours later, the doctors discharged the Patient. On her way home, the Patient crossed a double-yellow line and collided with a bus being driven by the plaintiff.

The plaintiff filed suit against the treating physicians as well as the hospital that employs them, arguing that the defendants were negligent in failing to warn the Patient that the medication she recently ingested could affect her driving. In an pre-trial proceeding, the defendants asked the court to dismiss the case against them, arguing that the only duty they had was to the Patient, and that duty did not extend to third parties such as the plaintiff.

December 7, 2015

U.S. Supreme Court Discusses Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act as It Applies to Personal Injury Cases

by Sidney Schupak, Esq.

Earlier this month, the United States Supreme Court handed down a decision interpreting the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. In the case, OBB Personenverkehr AG (“OBB”) v. Sachs, the Court determined that the “commercial activity” exception to the Act’s general grant of immunity to foreign governments did not apply to the specific facts presented. As a result, the plaintiff’s case was dismissed.The Facts of OBB Personenverkehr AG v. Sachs

The plaintiff in OBB Personenverkehr AG v. Sachs was a California woman who had purchased a Eurorail pass here in the United States from a U.S. retailer for her plans to travel in Europe. While she was in Austria, however, the woman was seriously injured due to the alleged negligence of OBB, which is wholly owned by the Austrian government. The plaintiff filed suit against OBB in a U.S. federal district court.

In a pretrial motion, OBB cited the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and asked the court to dismiss the case.

May 11, 2014

Drunk driving crash victim to receive $2M from family of “Affluenza” teen Ethan Couch

by Sidney Schupak, Esq.

Young drivers should expect to held accountable for their driving behavior regardless of their socio-economic status and their parents’ child raising style. This was a hard lesson Ethan Couch learned when his insurance carrier agreed to pay a substantial settlement in a car crash caused by his drinking and driving.

The North Texas teenager who killed four people and injured 12 in a June 2013 drunken-driving wreck has reached a settlement of more than $2 million with the family of a teenage boy left disabled.

Tarrant County, Texas court documents show that the liability insurer of Ethan Couch’s parents agreed to pay $1.64 million in cash to a trust established for Sergio E. Molina.The Couches’ insurer also will buy two annuities to make payments to the trust.

May 4, 2014

Charles B. Roberts Settles Death Case for $1,125,000.00

by Sidney Schupak, Esq.

The verdicts and settlements listed below are a representative sample of the hundreds of cases our law firm has handled. Please be advised that the case results reported below depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case and do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case undertaken by the lawyer.

In 2013, The Schupak Law Firm. was retained to handle a matter involving the wrongful death of a pedestrian who was struck by a vehicle driven by an 18 year old who, at the time of the crash, was involved in a road rage altercation with another driver. The case was challenging since our client was jaywalking at night and was allegedly not watching where he was crossing because he was wearing headphones and listening to music at the time he was fatally struck. Charles B. Roberts successfully obtained a settlement for his client’s family in the sum of $1,125,000,000 after the parties agreed to mediation and all the evidence was presented to the insurance companies.

January 25, 2013

The Schupak Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys

by Sidney Schupak, Esq.

Please visit the website of our law firm at charlesrobertslaw.com or robertsinjurylaw.com if you are in need of highly skilled and successful personal injury lawyers. The following is an excerpt from those websites which sets out the general qualifications of our personal injury law firm.

The attorneys associated with The Schupak Law Firm and I are proud to adhere to the “The Diamond Standard” in the practice of law. This standard is exemplified by the highest level of preparation and hard work in every case combined with the intelligent pursuit of victory.We accept cases in Virginia, Maryland and in Washington D.C.

Our uncompromising adherence to excellence has resulted in numerous $1,000,000.00 plus victories in the area of personal injury law, and thousands of completely satisfied clients in the fields of divorce, criminal, traffic, bankruptcy, wrongful death, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect and elder law.

March 15, 2012

Jury Awards $8M to Families in V. Tech Shooting Case | Woodbridge Wrongful Death Attorney

by Sidney Schupak, Esq.

A jury ruled this week that Virginia Tech was negligent in its response to the 2007 shootings on campus that left 33 dead and dozens more injured. The families of Erin Peterson and Julie Pryde were awarded $4 million each after only three and a half hours of deliberation. The jury determined that many of the victims would likely be alive today if Virginia Tech police and campus administrators had warned students of the first shooting sooner than they did.

Cases like this engender public outrage and highlight the importance of wrongful death cases. In a case like this, family members want to see that the people responsible for their loved one’s death are brought to justice. Negligent conduct such as that displayed by the university’s staff and campus police in this case should not go unpunished. Wrongful death cases, such as this one are extremely complex and may take years to resolve. If you have lost a loved one due to the wrongful conduct of another, contact a Woodbridge wrongful death lawyer to explore your legal options.

If someone else’s negligence led to your loved one’s death, call a Woodbridge injury attorney at (703) 798-3039 for a consultation. Our team of experienced attorneys can help you seek justice for your loss. We handle wrongful death cases in Woodbridge, Fredericksburg, Stafford, and throughout the state of Virginia. The Woodbridge wrongful death lawyers at the The Schupak Law Firm work on a contingent fee basis, which means that you don’t pay a fee unless you receive monetary recovery in your case.